Limited use pin system and method

ABSTRACT

The present invention facilitates transactions by providing a limited use PIN that is associated with a primary account and/or PIN number, wherein the limited use PIN is presented to the merchant to initiate a transaction. More particularly, the system involves the process of registering a user (if not already pre-registered) to participate in a transaction system; generating a limited use PIN and issuing this number to the user, where the user presents this number to a merchant to complete a sales transaction; the merchant processing this limited use PIN, where the number is typically presented to the credit issuer to facilitate authorization. Additionally, the limited use PIN may also carry with it certain limitations-on-use conditions, where the transaction is not authorized unless these conditions are met. In generating a limited use PIN, the issuer generates a random number and associates this number with the user&#39;s primary charge account.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priority toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/711,827 filed on Oct. 7, 2004 andentitled “LIMITED USE PIN SYSTEM AND METHOD,” which application claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/572,245, entitled“LIMITED USE PIN SYSTEM AND METHOD,” filed on May 17, 2004, the contentsof which are all incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This application generally relates to a system for facilitatingtransactions utilizing a code (e.g., PIN) that is associated with aprimary transaction instrument. More particularly, the system allows acardholder to pay a merchant using a private, limited-use code.Moreover, the invention provides registration, code generation andassociation, authorization, settlement and customer service processes toachieve an improved secure and private transaction system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various systems and methods exist for facilitating transaction cardskimming in the payment card industry. In an attempt to minimize theseand similar problems relating to transaction card fraud, banks and othertransaction card institutions have increased efforts to explore variousways to provide customers with temporary transaction numbers tofacilitate online transactions, where the actual transaction card is notdisclosed to the merchant and/or any other third party. However, manytransaction card authorization methods still include the use of a PIN.Potential thieves can use devices that readily intercept or copy PINnumbers entered into an ATM and/or gas-kiosks which are some of the mostcommon and least secure skimming locations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention facilitates transactions between a first party(referred to herein as “user”) and a second party (referred to herein as“merchant”) by providing the user with a limited use PIN that isassociated with a user's primary account and/or PIN number, wherein theuser presents or transmits the limited use PIN to the merchant toinitiate a transaction.

More particularly, the system involves the process of registering a user(if not already pre-registered) to participate in a transaction system;generating a limited use PIN and issuing this number to the user, wherethe user presents this number to a merchant to complete a salestransaction; the merchant processing this limited use PIN, similar toany other PIN, where the number is typically presented to the creditissuer to facilitate authorization. Throughout this process, the user'sprimary charge account number and/or PIN may never be passed to themerchant or any other third party. Additionally, the limited use PIN mayalso carry with it certain limitations-on-use conditions, where thetransaction is not authorized unless these conditions are met. Ingenerating a limited use PIN, which may be upon a user's request, theissuer generates a random number and associates this number with theuser's primary charge account.

Various embodiments of the present transaction system incorporate, andimprove upon, existing or developing technologies, such as, for example,non-currency based programs and loyalty systems, electronic lines ofcredit, online banking, response systems etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconnection with the figures, where like reference numbers refer tosimilar elements throughout the figures, and:

FIG. 1 is an overview of an exemplary system for facilitating atransaction;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of exemplary processes of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a web page screen shot of a issuer's exemplary splash page fora transaction system;

FIG. 4 is a web page screen shot of a issuer's exemplary onlineregistration page for a transaction system;

FIG. 5 is a web page screen shot of a issuer's exemplary online log-inpage for a transaction system;

FIG. 6 is a web page screen shot of an issuer's exemplary onlinedrop-down menu used to select a primary charge account in the foregroundand an online merchant's payment web page in the background;

FIG. 7 is a web page screen shot, displaying in the foreground, anexemplary limited use PIN returned to the user; and in the background, amerchant's payment web page;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of exemplary components of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example of some of the exemplary datastructure of the LUP database of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of an exemplary limited use PIN generationprocess of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction authorizationphase of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an screen shot of an exemplary transaction history report ofthe present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention involving an electronic line of credit system;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram depicting one embodiment of an exemplarytransaction system of the present invention used to facilitate anon-currency based membership rewards program; and

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram depicting a second embodiment of an exemplarytransaction system of the present invention used to facilitate amembership rewards program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

General Computing Information

The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the inventionherein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show theexemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. Whilethese exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should beunderstood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical andmechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein ispresented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. Forexample, the steps recited in any of the method descriptions may beexecuted in any order and are not limited to the order presented.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown inthe various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative and/or additionalfunctional relationships and/or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

The various system computing components discussed herein may include oneand/or more of the following: a host server and/or other computingsystems including a processor for processing digital data; a memorycoupled to said processor for storing digital data; an input digitizercoupled to the processor for inputting digital data; an applicationprogram stored in said memory and accessible by said processor fordirecting processing of digital data by said processor; a display devicecoupled to the processor and memory for displaying information derivedfrom digital data processed by said processor; and a plurality ofdatabases. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the computingsystems may include an operating system (e.g., MVS, Windows NT,95/98/2000/XP, OS2, UNIX, MVS, TPF, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, AIX, etc.) aswell as various conventional support software and drivers typicallyassociated with computers.

The present invention may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the presentinvention may employ various integrated circuit components (e.g., memoryelements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and thelike), which may carry out a variety of functions under the control ofone and/or more microprocessors and/or other control devices. Similarly,the software elements of the present invention may be implemented withany programming and/or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL,assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, extensible markuplanguage (XML), with the various algorithms being implemented with anycombination of data structures, objects, processes, routines and/orother programming elements. Further, it should be noted that the presentinvention may employ any number of conventional techniques for datatransmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the like.For a basic introduction of cryptography and network security, thefollowing may be helpful references: (1) “Applied Cryptography:Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” by Bruce Schneier,published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition, 1996); (2) “JavaCryptography,” by Jonathan Knudson, published by O'Reilly & Associates(1998); (3) “Cryptography & Network Security: Principles & Practice,” byWilliam Stallings, published by Prentice Hall; all of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the presentinvention may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, adevice for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelysoftware embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, and/or anembodiment combining aspects of both software and hardware. Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program product ona computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codemeans embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

The present invention is described herein with reference to blockdiagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus (e.g.,systems), and computer program products according to various aspects ofthe invention. It will be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations,respectively, may be implemented by computer program instructions. Thesecomputer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, and/or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer and/or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block and/or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that may direct a computer and/or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block and/orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause aseries of operational steps to be performed on the computer and/or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions which execute on the computer and/or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block and/or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, may be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions and/or steps, and/or suitable combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases and/or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that may be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website may include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, Java applets, JavaScript, activeserver pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensiblemarkup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS),helper applications, plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a webservice that receives a request from a browser that includes a URL(http://yahoo.com/stockquotes/ge) and an IP address (123.56.789). Theweb service retrieves the appropriate web pages and sends the web pagesto the IP address.

Definitions

A “code”, “PIN” (personal identification number), “account” and/or“account number”, as used herein, may include any device, code, number,letter, symbol, digital certificate, smart chip, digital signal, analogsignal, biometric and/or other identifier/indicia suitably configured toallow the user to access, interact with and/or communicate with thesystem such as, for example, one and/or more of an authorization/accesscode, personal identification number (PIN), Internet code, otheridentification code, and/or the like, which may optionally be located onand/or associated with a rewards card, charge card, credit card, debitcard, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magnetic stripe card,bar code card, transponder, radio frequency card and/or an associatedaccount. The account number may be distributed and stored in any form ofplastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency, transponder, wireless,satellite, audio and/or optical device capable of transmitting and/ordownloading data from itself to a second device. An account number maybe, for example, a sixteen-digit credit card number, although eachcredit provider has its own numbering system, such as the fifteen-digitnumbering system used by American Express. Each company's credit cardnumbers comply with that company's standardized format such that thecompany using a sixteen-digit format will generally use four spaced setsof numbers, as represented by the number “0000 0000 0000 0000”. Thefirst five to seven digits are reserved for processing purposes andidentify the issuing bank, card type, etc. In this example, the last(sixteenth) digit is used as a sum check for the sixteen-digit number.The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used to uniquely identify thecardholder. A merchant account number may be, for example, any numberand/or alpha-numeric characters that identifies a particular business orcharity for purposes of card acceptance, account reconciliation,reporting, and/or the like.

Furthermore, the merchant and the provider, described herein, mayrepresent individual people, entities, and/or business, and whilereference is made to American Express®, and/or any other credit accountprovider, this is by way of example and the financial authorizationentity may represent various types of card issuing institutions, such asbanks, credit card companies, card sponsoring companies, and/orthird-party issuers under contract with financial institutions. Thepayment network may include existing proprietary networks that presentlyaccommodate transactions for credit cards, debit cards, and other typesof financial/banking cards, such as, for example, the American Express®,and VisaNet® network.

Merchant systems may include any suitable hardware and/or softwaredescribed herein configured to allow a merchant to accept a transactionaccount payment and communicate over a network. For example, merchantsystems may include a standard personal computer (PC) comprising a CPU,monitor, storage, keyboard, mouse, and communication hardwareappropriate for the given data link (e.g., V.90 modem, network card,cable modem, etc.). In alternate embodiments, merchant systems arepersonal data assistants (PDAs) capable of manipulating images andcommunicating with transaction system. Merchant systems may also includeapplication software configured to communicate over a network, forexample, a world wide web (WWW) browser and/or any other communicationsoftware. In an exemplary embodiment, merchant systems may includepoint-of-sale terminals which communicate over a payment networkdiscussed herein and/or via a conventional Internet browser applicationthat operates in accordance with HTML and HTTP protocols such asNetscape Navigator (available from the Netscape Corporation of MountainView, Calif.) and/or Microsoft Internet Explorer (available from theMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.).

A variety of conventional communications media and protocols may be usedfor data links. Such links may include, for example, a connection to anInternet Service Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically usedin connection with standard modem communication, cable modem, Dishnetworks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL); and/or various wirelesscommunication methods. Merchant systems may also reside within a LANthat interfaces to a network via a leased line (T1, D3, etc.). Suchcommunication methods are well known in the art, and are covered in avariety of standard texts. See, e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATACOMMUNICATIONS (1996), hereby incorporated by reference. It is notedthat the network may be implemented as other types of networks, such asan interactive television (ITV) network. Moreover, the systemcontemplates the use, sale and/or distribution of any goods, servicesand/or information over any network having similar functionalitydescribed herein. While an exemplary embodiment of the invention isdescribed in association with a transaction system, the inventioncontemplates any type of networks and/or transaction systems, including,for example, unsecure networks, public networks, wireless networks,closed networks, open networks, intranets, extranets, and/or the like.

While the terms “credit card accounts” and/or “credit card” may be usedin the exemplary embodiments, the invention contemplates the use of anytype of financial and/or transaction account. As used herein, a“transaction card” may include any account used for financial and/orvalue transactions wherein the account may and/or may not be associatedwith a physical card, such as a charge card, credit card, debit card,smart card, bar-coded card, magnetic stripe card, transponder, accountnumber, Internet account, Internet card, personal digital assistantaccount, digital wallet account, airline card, mall card, frequentshopper card, brokerage account, 401K plan, stock account, telephoneaccount, utility account, loyalty point account, and/or the like. Onesuch transaction account, which is suitable for use with this invention,is the account described by Bishop et al., in the U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/652,899, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FORCONDUCTING ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS,” filed Aug. 31, 2000, which isherein incorporated in its entirety by reference.

As used herein, the term network may include any electroniccommunications means which incorporates both hardware and softwarecomponents of such. Communication among the parties in accordance withthe present invention may be accomplished through any suitablecommunication channels, such as, for example, a telephone network, anextranet, an intranet, Internet, point-of-interaction device(point-of-sale device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone,kiosk, Automatic Teller Machine (ATM), etc.), online communications,off-line communications, wireless communications, transpondercommunications, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),networked and/or linked devices and/or the like. Moreover, although theinvention is frequently described herein as being implemented withTCP/IP communications protocols, the invention may also be implementedusing IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI and/or any number of existingand/or future protocols. If the network is in the nature of a publicnetwork, such as the Internet, it may be advantageous to presume thenetwork to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific informationrelated to the protocols, standards, and application software utilizedin connection with the Internet is generally known to those skilled inthe art and, as such, need not be detailed herein. See, for example,DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE,various authors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997), the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

System Description

As depicted in FIG. 1, the present invention generally relates to atransaction system where a first party to a transaction (“user 1”)provides to a second party to a transaction (“merchant 2”) a Limited UsePIN (LUP) 15. The LUP may be generated by an issuer 3 or may be createdby the user 1. In an exemplary embodiment, although not required, LUP 15is immediately usable by user 1 without need for activation and may haveassociated therewith user 1, issuer 3, and/or merchant 2 definedconditions and/or parameters of use restrictions which limit use of theLUP 15. A “transaction,” as defined herein, includes, inter alia, anyexchange and/or delivery of value, exchange and/or delivery of data,gifting of value and/or data, etc. The term “transaction” not onlycontemplates an exchange of goods and/or services for value from oneparty to another, but also the gifting of something from one party toanother. Additionally, transaction and/or charge card numbers areaccount numbers that are used to facilitate any type of transaction.

The first party to the transaction (referred to herein as “user 1”) maybe any individual, business, software, hardware and/or other entity thatuses a LUP 15 to facilitate any transaction. In an exemplary embodiment,user 1 establishes a new and/or has an existing relationship and/orassociation with issuer 3. For example, in one embodiment, user 1 may bean American Express® card member. In another embodiment, user 1 may be aparticipant in a frequent flyer rewards program. In a furtherembodiment, user 1 may be a member of any suitable organization thatprovides transaction products and/or services. Another embodimentcontemplates the cardholder gifting a limited use PIN to a second party.The term user 1 may also be referred to herein as “consumer,” “cardmember,” “participant,” “cardholder,” “customer” and/or the like.

The second party to the transaction (referred to herein as “merchant 2”)is any individual, business, software, hardware, website, online vendor,off line vendor and/or other entity that receives a limited use PIN,whether and/or not in exchange for goods and/or services. For example,in one embodiment, merchant 2 may be an online bookstore such asAmazon.com®. In another embodiment, merchant 2 may be a local plumber.In yet another embodiment, merchant 2 may be a local hardware store. Insome instances, user 1 and merchant 2 may be the same. In othersituations, merchant 2 and issuer 3 are the same. Although referred toherein as a “merchant,” this term contemplates situations where anysecond party receives a limited use PIN from the first party: such as,for example, where user 1 gifts a limited use PIN to another party.

The issuer (“issuer 3”) includes any provider of products and/orservices that facilitates any type of transaction. As contemplated by anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, issuer 3 establishes andmaintains account and/or transaction information for user 1. Issuer 3may issue products to user 1 and may also provide both user 1 andmerchant 2 with the processes to facilitate the transaction system ofthe present invention. Issuer 3 may include banks; credit unions;credit, debit and/or other transaction-related companies, telephonecompanies; and/or any other type of card and/or account issuinginstitutions, such as card-sponsoring companies, incentive and/orloyalty rewards companies, and/or third-party providers under contractwith financial institutions. Unless otherwise specifically set forthherein, although referred to as “account provider,” this term should beunderstood to mean any entity issuing any type of account to facilitateany transaction, exchange and/or service; and should not be limited tocompanies possessing and/or issuing physical cards. In an exemplarysystem, issuer 3 may be any transaction facilitating company such as acharge account provider like American Express®, VISA®, Mastercard®,Discover®, etc. In another embodiment, issuer 3 could be any membershiporganization and/or union. In some instances, issuer 3 and merchant 2may be the same, for example, where the LUP 15 is issued by the sameentity that provides the product and/or service. A LUP 15 phone cardissued by a telephone company, where LUP 15 phone card is associatedwith a primary telephone account is one example.

An exemplary LUP 15 is any transaction number, code, symbol, indicia,PIN, etc., that is associated with another number and/or account thathas been designated by user 1 and/or issuer 3 as a primary chargeaccount (PCA 20) (i.e., primary account number, primary PIN number). Inan exemplary embodiment, LUP 15 is a purchasing number that acts as aPIN and is associated with PCA 20. In an exemplary embodiment, PCA 20account is not directly identified by LUP 15. In certain embodiments,PCA 20 account may have some identifying elements related to LUP 15. PCA20 is defined herein to include any type of transaction account thatreferences any account, membership, affiliation and/or association. Forexample, PCA 20 may be any charge account, such as a main charge card,credit, debit card and/or other account, such as a bank and/or brokerageaccount, reward program account, flexible spending account, etc. Whenmore than one user 1 account exists, PCA 20 is the account that has beendesignated by user 1 and/or issuer 3 as the primary account.Alternatively, there may be a hierarchy of accounts where LUP 15 isassociated with one and/or more PCAs 20 in a designated order.Additionally, as depicted in at least one embodiment described herein,LUP 15 may be associated with two and/or more accounts. For example, LUP15 could be associated with a non-currency based account and also PCA20.

While LUP 15 may be described herein as a limited use PIN or code, LUP15 may be configured as any type of limited use code, ID, number,account or the like. For example, the present invention contemplates LUP15 configured as a single use ID as described by Glazer et al., in theU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/804,429, entitled “SINGLE USE USERIDS,” filed Mar. 18, 2004 and incorporated herein by reference.

In an exemplary embodiment involving credit, debit and/or other bankingcards, LUP 15 has the same or similar industry standard format that isused for regular PINs (e.g., four or more digit numbers). In exemplaryembodiments, the numbers are formatted such that one is unable to tellthe difference between LUP 15 and a regular PIN.

In an exemplary embodiment, LUP 15 is randomly and instantaneouslygenerated by the issuer 3, usually upon a user's request, and can bedistributed to user 1 by a variety of methods (online, telephone,wireless, email, regular mail, etc.) all of which should be secure anddependent upon verification of the user's identity. In an exemplaryembodiment, although not required, LUP 15 is immediately active (andusable) once it is associated with the user's designated PCA 20 andprovided to user 1. This feature minimizes the possibility that merchant2 will receive a PIN that will be worthless because it was not properlyactivated by user 1, a third party, an issuer, and/or any other party.While the present invention may contemplate a previously allocated poolof numbers that needs to be activated, an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention includes LUPs 15 that are instantaneously and randomlygenerated, and are usable upon receipt by user 1 without the need forseparate activation.

In another exemplary embodiment, LUP 15 may have limited-use (and/orconditions-of-use) parameters associated with it by either user 1,merchant 2, and/or issuer 3 in order for the numbers to be restrictedfor particular uses. Alternatively, user 1 is able to choose systemdefault parameters of use. Parameters may include, for example: (i) useof LUP 15 is good for a predetermined number of transactions (e.g., one,two, three, etc. transactions before the LUP is declined; (ii)cardholder-determined expiration dates (i.e., LUP 15 will be generatedwith expiration dates that are associated but unrelated to theexpiration date of the user's PCA 20 number, other than that it cannotexceed the expiration date of PCA 20 account); (iii) limiting use of LUP15 to a specified dollar amount, dollar amount per transaction, totaldollar amount for pro-designated number of transactions, maximum dollaramount per month, etc.; (iv) use of LUP 15 for a specified merchantonly; (v) restricting use to a specified user, other than primarycardholder (e.g., child, spouse, gift recipient, etc.); and/or (vi) anycombination of these and/or similar features, for example, a number canbe used at a specified merchant only for a pro-designated number oftransactions and for a maximum dollar amount. In an exemplary onlineembodiment, user 1 may desire to require all online transactions (e.g.,purchases) be performed using only LUPs, and/or alternatively, beperformed only with specific merchants as defined. If the cardholder(and/or another individual) uses a physical charge card number for anonline payment in violation of this condition, issuer 3 may decline theauthorization.

These parameters not only provide increased security, allowing user 1 totailor LUP 15 to a particular use, but an ancillary benefit is theability of a cardholder to select conditions to control spending forthemselves and/or others who have registered eligibility or authority touse the card (e.g., spouse, children, etc.). These conditions mayinclude: restrictions (user 1 may choose to restrict use on certainsites and/or can pre-approve spending at particular sites); date range(user 1 can select a period of time when transactions may occur);maximum budget amount (user 1 can pre-set spending limits within certainperiods of time and/or in certain categories (e.g., groceries, books,clothing)); credit and balance availability (user 1 can check creditand/or demand deposit balance availability prior to transacting);non-currency based accounts, such as Reward Points as Currency (user 1can use reward points (e.g., Membership Rewards™, Blue Loot™) ascurrency to pay for purchases); and Gift Products (user 1 can use PCA 20via LUP 15 to fund gift products to others for designated amounts).

As shown in FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionincludes steps for: (i) registering user 1 to use the account provider's3 transaction services (step 100); (ii) receiving from user 1 a requestfor LUP 15 (step 105); (iii) generating LUP 15, associating LUP 15 withPCA 20, applying limited-use conditions, if desired, and issuing LUP 15to user 1 (step 110); (iv) processing a merchant's 2 authorizationrequest involving LUP 15 to determine if use of the LUP is authorized(step 115); (v) processing a settlement request, paying the merchant,and billing user 1 (step 120); and (vi) handling disputes and othercustomer service issues from the merchant and/or cardholder relating touse of LUP 15 (step 125).

FIG. 8 depicts an overview of the components of an exemplary transactionsystem. In general, the account provider's computer system utilizesfront end 13 and back end 14 processing systems. Front end 13 systemincludes, for example, a user interface system 4 (e.g., web server, IVR,etc.), an application server 5, a LUP database 6, and a cardauthorization system (CAS) 7. Application server 5 and LUP database 6may, at times, be referred to collectively as the LUP transaction system(and/or service) 18. Referencing FIGS. 2 and 8, these front end 13components facilitate (i) cardholder registration (step 100), (ii)request for a LUP 15 (step 105), (ii) generation and issuance of LUP 15(step 110), and (iv) the LUP authorization process (step 115). Back end14 system includes, for example, a financial capture system 10, a backend application service 8, an accounts payable system 9 and an accountsreceivable system 11. Again referencing FIGS. 2 and 8, back end 14components facilitate transaction settlement (step 120). In an exemplarysystem, the dispute handling and customer service processes (step 125)include, for example, in addition to the above mentioned systems, asystem for identifying PCA 20 from LUP 15, a letter generating systemfor sending dispute inquiries to users 1 and merchants 2, and a systemthat accepts incoming communication from merchants 2 and converts LUP 15received to PCA 20 for the purpose of facilitating the dispute handlingprocess. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, issuer 3 user interfacesystem 4 provides user 1 with access to the account provider'stransaction services. It is through this interface that user 1 mayregister with the issuer 3, may request LUP 15, and, in responsethereto, will receive from issuer 3 LUP 15 that is associated with hisPCA 20. Front end 13 system also utilizes at least one applicationserver 5 that processes incoming information, applies the appropriatebusiness rules/condition sets as necessary, and generates appropriateoutgoing responses. Application server 5 is configured to supportinteraction with, for example, user interface system 4 and LUP database6. An exemplary LUP database 6 is a relational database comprisingvarious tables for managing and translating a variety of information,such as user 1 profiles, charge card data, transaction data, merchantdata, conditions/rules set profiles, etc.

Various databases used herein may include, for example, merchant data,financial institution data, and/or like data useful in the operation ofthe present invention. In other embodiments, any databases discussedherein may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical,graphical, object-oriented, and/or other database configurations. Commondatabase products that may be used to implement the databases includeDB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), various database products availablefrom Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Accessand/or Microsoft SQL Server by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.),and/or any other suitable database product. Moreover, the databases maybe organized in any suitable manner, for example, as data tables and/orlookup tables. Each record may be a single file, a series of files, alinked series of data fields and/or any other data structure.Association of certain data may be accomplished through any desired dataassociation technique such as those known and/or practiced in the art.For example, the association may be accomplished either manually and/orautomatically. Automatic association techniques may include, forexample, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/orthe like. The association step may be accomplished by a database mergefunction, for example, using a “key field” in pre-selected databasesand/or data sectors.

More particularly, a “key field” partitions the database according tothe high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example,certain types of data may be designated as a key field in a plurality ofrelated data tables and the data tables may then be linked based on thetype of data in the key field. In this regard, the data corresponding tothe key field in each of the linked data tables may be the same and/orof the same type. However, data tables having similar, though notidentical, data in the key fields may also be linked by using AGREP, forexample. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, anysuitable data storage technique may be utilized to store data without astandard format. Data sets may be stored using any suitable technique,including, for example, storing individual files using an ISO/IEC 7816-4file structure; implementing a domain whereby a dedicated file isselected that exposes one and/or more elementary files containing oneand/or more data sets; using data sets stored in individual files usinga hierarchical filing system; data sets stored as records in a singlefile (including compression, SQL accessible, hashed via one and/or morekeys, .numeric, alphabetical by first tuple, etc.); block of binary(BLOB); stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IEC 7816-6data elements; stored as ungrouped data elements encoded using ISO/IECAbstract Syntax Notation (ASN.1) as in ISO/IEC 8824 and 8825; and/orother proprietary techniques that may include fractal compressionmethods, image compression methods, etc.

In one exemplary embodiment, the ability to store a wide variety ofinformation in different formats is facilitated by storing theinformation as a Block of Binary (BLOB). Thus, any binary informationmay be stored in a storage space associated with a data set. Asdiscussed above, the binary information may be stored on the financialtransaction instrument and/or external to but affiliated with thefinancial transaction instrument. The BLOB method may store data sets asungrouped data elements formatted as a block of binary via a fixedmemory offset using either fixed storage allocation, circular queuetechniques, and/or best practices with respect to memory management(e.g., paged memory, least recently used, etc.). By using BLOB methods,the ability to store various data sets that have different formatsfacilitates the storage of data associated with the financialtransaction instrument by multiple and unrelated owners of the datasets. For example, a first data set which may be stored may be providedby a first issuer, a second data set which may be stored may be providedby an unrelated second issuer, and yet a third data set which may bestored, may be provided by a third issuer unrelated to the first andsecond issuer. Each of these three exemplary data sets may containdifferent information that is stored using different data storageformats and/or techniques. Further, each data set may contain subsets ofdata that also may be distinct from other subsets.

As stated above, in various embodiments of the present invention, thedata may be stored without regard to a common format. However, in oneexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the data set (e.g., BLOB)may be annotated in a standard manner when provided for manipulating thedata onto the financial transaction instrument. The annotation maycomprise a short header, trailer, and/or other appropriate indicatorrelated to each data set that is configured to convey information usefulin managing the various data sets. For example, the annotation may becalled a “condition header”, “header”, “trailer”, and/or “status”,herein, and may comprise an indication of the status of the data setand/or may include an identifier correlated to a specific issuer and/orowner of the data. In one example, the first three bytes of each dataset BLOB may be configured and/or configurable to indicate the status ofthat particular data set (e.g., LOADED, INITIALIZED, READY, BLOCKED,REMOVABLE, and/or DELETED). Subsequent bytes of data may be used toindicate for example, the identity of the issuer, user,transaction/membership account identifier and/or the like. Each of thesecondition annotations is further discussed herein.

The data set annotation may also be used for other types of statusinformation as well as various other purposes. For example, the data setannotation may include security information establishing access levels.The access levels may, for example, be configured to permit only certainindividuals, levels of employees, companies, and/or other entities toaccess data sets, and/or to permit access to specific data sets based onthe transaction, charity, issuer, donor and/or the like. Furthermore,the security information may restrict/permit only certain actions suchas accessing, modifying, and/or deleting data sets. In one example, thedata set annotation indicates that only the data set owner and/or thedonor are permitted to delete a data set, various identified charitiesare permitted to access the data set for reading, and others arealtogether excluded from accessing the data set. However, other accessrestriction parameters may also be used allowing various entities toaccess a data set with various permission levels as appropriate.

The data, including the header and/or trailer may be received by astand-alone interaction device configured to add, delete, modify, and/oraugment the data in accordance with the header and/or trailer. As such,in one exemplary embodiment, the header and/or trailer is not stored onthe transaction device along with the associated issuer-owned data butinstead the appropriate action may be taken by providing to thetransaction instrument user at the stand-alone device, the appropriateoption for the action to be taken. However, the present inventioncontemplates a data storage arrangement wherein the header and/ortrailer, and/or header and/or trailer history, of the data is stored onthe transaction instrument in relation to the appropriate data.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers and/or other components of thepresent invention may consist of any combination thereof at a singlelocation and/or at multiple locations, wherein each database and/orsystem includes any of various suitable security features, such asfirewalls, access codes, encryption, decryption, compression,decompression, and/or the like.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website and/orother Internet-based graphical user interface which is accessible byusers. In one embodiment, the Microsoft Internet Information Server(IIS), Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and Microsoft SQL Server, areused in conjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft NTweb server software, a Microsoft SQL Server database system, and aMicrosoft Commerce Server. Additionally, components such as Accessand/or Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix MySQL, InterBase,etc., may be used to provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliantdatabase management system.

FIG. 9 illustrates two examples of exemplary tables within LUP database6. LUP table 166 may contain a variety of database fields 170 relatingto the user's LUP account. These fields may contain, in addition togeneral LUP 15 and PCA 20 account information, the businessrule/condition set profiles associated with use of LUP 15. A LUPTransaction Information Table 168 contains database fields 172 forstoring information relating to a particular transaction. As one skilledin the art can appreciate, the processing mechanisms and data structuremethods can be structured in a variety of ways. In short, user interfacesystem 4, application server 5, and LUP database 6 are suitablyconnected to facilitate the generation and issuance of LUP 15 and arefurther associated with card authorization system (CAS) 7, in order toprocess from merchant 2 an authorization request involving LUP 15.

When processing a merchant's request for settlement (i.e., to be paidfor a transaction), financial capture (FINCAP) 10 system receives andcaptures the financial information (e.g., transaction amount, date,merchant identification (SE) number, LUP 15, etc.). The back endapplication service 8 interfaces with LUP transaction system 18, asnecessary, to determine if the number is a valid LUP 15 (i.e., not afraudulent number) and/or if PCA 20 associated with LUP 15 is alsovalid. If LUP 15 and/or PCA 20 is valid, AP system 9 pays the merchant2. LUP database 6 is updated to reflect the transaction information. LUPtransaction system 18 (and/or alternatively the back end applicationservice 8) may substitute PCA 20 number for LUP 15 and forwards to theAR system 11 for billing.

Although the present system for facilitating transactions may existwithin one account provider system, exemplary embodiments contemplateuse with other third-party authorization and settlement systems andnetworks. FIGS. 8 and 11, for example, depict third-party authorizationnetworks (FIGS. 11, 91 and 92) and settlement networks (FIG. 8, 93-95)that may be integrated to form parts and/or processes of the presentinvention. Exemplary processes of the present invention are discussed ingreater detail below.

Registration (FIG. 2, Step 100)

Two exemplary screen shots relating to an exemplary registration processare shown at FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 depicts a splash page for an AmericanExpress® Limited use PIN program. The Limited use PIN program is anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. Here, a new user 23 mayenroll to use the program and/or an existing user may access a number ofprogram features 25, e.g., review account, request a new LUP 15 numberand/or download software. User 1 generally enters this site by enteringan appropriate account provider URL into her browser, by clicking on alink provided by a merchant's website, and/or alternatively, by anautomatic pop-up feature that may appear upon recognizing particular URLand/or HTML codes.

To enroll (or register), user 1 is linked to a registration page (FIG.4) and prompted for information. Information may include thecardholder's name 30, email address 31, card account number 32 (e.g.,PCA 20), last four digits of social security number 33, user's date ofbirth 34, etc. Any suitable authenticating information will suffice. Byselecting “continue” 35, user 1 may be provided with a username andpassword, and/or the cardholder may be allowed to select her ownusername and password. The user interface system 4 processes thisinformation and suitably interfaces with LUP transaction system 18 (FIG.8) to register the cardholder. Registration may take many forms and maybe accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, issuer 3 may chooseto automatically enroll all new charge account applicants and return tothe user a username and password with the physical credit card. AlthoughFIGS. 3 and 4 show an online registration process, it should beappreciated that this process may take place via any suitable userinterface system.

In one embodiment, during the registration process, user 1 may choose toselect and/or define various parameters, conditions, and programs totailor the transaction system to the user's 1 particular needs.Additional embodiments allow user 1 to select and/or define parameters,conditions and/or programs at any point in the transaction process. Inother words, user 1 has the flexibility to select parameters each time(e.g., during registration, log-in, upon LUP request, etc.) LUP 15 isgenerated and/or may apply universal parameters to every LUP 15generated. With these selections, for example, user 1 may (i) designatea specific credit card to function as the primary card account; (ii)associate the transaction system with other programs such as anon-currency based membership rewards program, an online digital wallet,an online shopping gateway (e.g., American Express's “ShopAMEX”), anonline gift check program (e.g., E-Gift), exemplary buyer's programs,etc.; (iii) provide password protected access to family members; (iv)activate a smartcard feature allowing remote random generation oflimited use PINs; (v) designate cell phone, email and/or pager numbersto utilize with the voice and/or automated response limited use PINgeneration feature; (vi) and other banking and transaction features thatmay be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Log-in and Request for LUP 15 (FIG. 2, Step 105):

A registered user 1 generally accesses the account provider'stransaction system by logging into the system via any suitable userinterface system 4. FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary online log-in screen130, where user 1 is prompted for authenticating information such as ausername 132 and password 134. Alternative systems contemplateauthentication via any suitable user interface system. For example, anembodiment employing a portable data device such as an RFID-transponderfob facilitates authentication by waving the fob in front of atransponder reader. After waving the fob, the transaction informationmay be routed through the user interface system 4 (e.g., web server) tothe application server 5, where, as shown in FIG. 5, the applicationserver 5 retrieves information relating to the user's account from theLUP database 6. If user 1 has registered multiple charge accounts, inone embodiment 136, as depicted in FIG. 6, the program prompts user 1 tochoose from a list of accounts from a pull-down menu 138. User 1 thenselects at least one account to be the primary account and/or to beincluded in a primary group of accounts (when it is desired for LUP 15to be associated with more than one account). In other embodiments, userinterface system 4 (e.g., web server) will return additional options foruser 1, such as prompting user 1 to choose from several condition fieldssuch as those previously mentioned (e.g., restricting use to aparticular merchant, amount, allowing use by other recipients, etc.).

LUP 15 Generation and Issuance (Distribution) to User 1 (Step 110):

An exemplary online transaction process begins with user 1 desiring topurchase products and/or services from a merchant's website. In thisexemplary online system, user 1 selects products from a merchant'sonline website 2, is routed to and/or clicks to the merchant's paymentpage 2 a (FIGS. 5, 6). User 1 is hyperlinked (manually and/orautomatically) to a account provider's web site to log in 130 (FIG. 5),which resides on and is managed by the account provider's user interfacesystem 4 (e.g., web server), and, upon logging in, obtains LUP 15 thatmay then be “cut and pasted,” “dragged and dropped” (or alternatively,automatically filled by issuer 3 and/or downloaded from a digitalwallet) into the payment fields 144, 146, 148 (FIG. 7) on the paymentweb page 2 b (FIG. 7). In alternative embodiments, the system includesone and/or more of the following: issuer 3 sends LUP 15 directly to themerchant 2, LUP 15 is encrypted and/or encoded, user 1 enters additionalsecurity numbers and/or other indicia and/or a biometric sample isrequired from the issuer 3. In an exemplary embodiment, LUP 15, as willbe discussed next, is generated by the account provider's applicationserver 5 and LUP database 6.

After authenticating user 1 during the log-in process, and receiving arequest for LUP 15, the process begins for generating LUP 15. Userinterface system 4 prompts the initiation of the number generationprocess in the LUP transaction system 18. In an exemplary random numbergeneration process, LUP 15 is generated (e.g., almost immediately) andprovided to user 1 (almost contemporaneous with the user's request). Aspreviously noted, this allows the number to be usable immediately uponreceipt by user 1 without the need for separate activation (althoughseparate activation features are contemplated by the present invention),while minimizing any increased risk of theft and/or fraud.

An exemplary random number generation process is depicted in FIG. 10. Inthis exemplary embodiment, each issuer 3 (FIG. 1) is generallyidentified by a range of numbers on the physical card, typically calledthe bank identification number (BIN). Each card possesses a productidentifier (e.g., first 2 digits of BIN, etc.) that is not part of therandom number generation process, but in order to initiate the process,this number must first be selected (step 40). Issuer 3 may set aside aset of product identification numbers relating to limited use PINs forspecific use with the transaction system. Alternatively, however, someaccount providers may find it desirable to use a relationship to thesame BIN number designation for both LUPs 15 and regular PINs so thatone cannot distinguish between the two types of numbers. As depicted inFIG. 10, a random four-digit number is generated by the accountprovider's application server 5 using an algorithmic process (step 41).The application server 5 verifies that the randomly generated number isavailable (i.e., it is not in use nor has it been used by user 1 withina certain period of time) (step 42). If the LUP is free (i.e., not inuse), a check digit and the selected product identification number areappended to the number (step 43). This newly created LUP 15 is thenassociated with the user's PCA 20 and is provided to user 1 (step 45),whereupon LUP database 6 is updated to reflect that this particular LUP15 is in use and associated with PCA 20 account. If, during step 42, itis determined that the number is in use, the number generation processis repeated up to a preset number of times (e.g., 3) (step 44). Afterattempting and failing to generate a non-used random number for a presetnumber of times, a non-used random number is physically selected fromLUP database 6 (step 46).

After LUP 15 is generated, conditions of use parameters are applied, andare associated with PCA 20 and/or LUP 15, LUP 15 is then distributed(i.e., issued) to user 1 for use in facilitating a transaction.Communication of LUP 15 may occur via a number of user interface systems4. For example, FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary online interface where LUP15 is returned to user 1. This embodiment shows how the account providerwindow 140 overlays a merchant's online payment page 2 b. User 1 selectsthe appropriate charge account (e.g., American Express®) from the credittype filed 144. User 1 is then able to “cut and paste” and/or “drag anddrop” LUP 15 (present in the LUP field 142) into the PIN field 146 onthe webpage 2 b. Finally, user 1 chooses the appropriate expiration date148 and completes the transaction by selecting the “purchase now” button150. Although this embodiment describes linking to a account provider'sweb site to receive LUP 15, an additional embodiment configures userinterface 4 (e.g., web server) and LUP transaction system 18 toseamlessly interact with the merchant's website to eliminate the need toseparately link to the issuer 3. In this instance, the generation andissuance of LUP 15 would use merchant 2 as a gateway to issuer 3. Anynumber of interface systems 4 can be used to facilitate the processesdescribed above (FIG. 2 steps 100, 105, 110).

For example, as just described, distribution of LUP 15 may occur via a“server to desktop” arrangement where a connection is establishedbetween the account provider's web-server 4 and the cardholder's Idesktop computer, using SSL 3.0. With this exemplary system, the numberis generated by the application server 5 (according to an algorithmicprocessing feature) utilizing a random number generation process such asthat previously described and delivered to the web server 4. The numberis then displayed on the user's 1 desktop. While pre-registration is notrequired, in an exemplary embodiment, user 1 will have previouslyregistered at the account provider's 3 online web site providing allrequired personal information, primary charge account numbers, andestablishing a user ID and password (if not already established). Theuser ID and password are then used for verification of user's 1 identitywhen logging into the account provider's web server 4.

Distribution of LUPs 15 may also occur via a “server to IVR”arrangement, where user 1 calls issuer 3 in order to obtain LUP 15. Inthis exemplary embodiment, a voice response menu enables user 1 tochoose the transaction option, and allows user 1 to enter a main accountnumber. Once identity is verified, a link to the application server 5 isestablished, prompting generation and delivery of LUP 15 over the phone.In this embodiment, user 1 provides authenticating information byproviding date of birth (DOB), a biometric, etc. Once this verificationnumber is matched to customer's records, LUP 15 is distributed. Ofcourse, this process would also work with a live operator arrangement.

Additional distribution embodiments include a number of differentdelivery vehicles and/or portable data devices, such as use of wirelessdevices, smart chip encoded devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs),pagers, interactive IVs, etc. For example, a “server to wireless device”is used where a wireless phone with Internet browser is able to accessthe account provider's transaction site via the account provider'sonline service web site. LUP 15 can be delivered via text and/or voice.Additionally, with the use of encryption keys, the wireless device canbe used as payment vehicles (e.g., LUP 15 is delivered from user 1 tomerchant 2 and/or other customer with Blue Tooth and/or other beamingtechnology). Again, verification of identity can be accomplished by avariety of means, including cardholder ID and password, DOB, PIN number,SIM cards in phones, etc.

Another exemplary embodiment of the transaction system, utilizing oneand/or more of the distribution arrangements above, includes situationswhere a Point-of-Sale terminal (POS) is not present (e.g., submittingLUP 15 to merchant 2 such as, for example, a plumber at home). In thisexemplary embodiment, user 1 may not have cash and/or may not want toprovide her PCA 20 number and/or PIN to the vendor due to concerns aboutunauthorized re-use. As such, user 1 calls issuer 3 seeking to obtainLUP 15 with either pre-defined conditions of use and/or cardholderdetermined conditions of use. A voice recognition system asks for PCA 20number, the amount she wants to authorize, a merchant ID (e.g., SEnumber), and/or any other conditions of use. The voice recognitionsystem communicates with the application server 5 and, alternatively CAS7, to generate LUP 15. LUP 15 is then transmitted to user 1 who in turnprovides to the merchant 2. Additionally, merchant 2 can also receive,if desired, an immediate call from the voice response unit to provide anapproval code. One skilled in the art will appreciate that this systemcan be used in association with landline phones, cellular phones,pagers, handheld computers and/or any other PDA devices.

Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention utilizes a smartcard system, RFID transponder (“fob”) system and/or similar portabledata device to generate and/or distribute LUP 15 to the account providerand/or merchant 2. The smart card and/or fob may facilitate thegeneration of LUP 15 in a number of different ways. In one embodiment,the smart card device itself and/or fob generates LUP 15 from aself-contained processing chip. In another embodiment, the smart cardand/or fob interfaces with the account provider's user interface system4 to cause issuer 3 to generate a number. In another embodiment, thesmart card and/or fob supports interaction with a merchant's transactionprocessing system. “Smart card” is referred to herein to include anymicrochip enabled transaction card that is capable of being read by asmart card reader, and is also referred herein to generally refer to anyportable data device that is capable of processing information. “Fob”referred to herein to include any contactless device that contains acomputer chip and antenna that is capable of being read by a transponderreader.

In an online embodiment, user 1 installs a smart card reader and/ortransponder reader and associated software to be used with the user'scomputer system that is capable of connecting to the Internet. Whendesiring to make an online purchase, user 1 swipes and/or inserts hissmart card through a card reader and/or waves his fob in front of thetransponder reader and enters an appropriate PIN. Once properlyauthenticated, the account provider transaction system generates andissues LUP 15 to user 1. In another embodiment, merchant 2 may have asmart card reader and/or transponder reader capable of interfacing withthe user's smart card and/or fob. In this embodiment, user 1 swipesand/or inserts the smart card through the merchant's reader and/or waveshis fob in front of merchant's transponder reader, and LUP 15 isdisplayed to the merchant 2. Additional information relating to smartcard and smart card reader payment technology is disclosed in Ser. No.60/232,040, filed on Sep. 12, 2000, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,742,845;5,898,838 and 5,905,908, owned by Datascape; which are herebyincorporated by reference. Additional information relating to fobs andtransponder reader payment technology is disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/340,352 filed on Jan. 10, 2003, entitled “SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR INCENTING PAYMENT USING RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION INCONTACT AND CONTACTLESS TRANSACTIONS”; U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/192,488, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PAYMENT USING RADIOFREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION IN CONTACT AND CONTACTLESS TRANSACTIONS,” filedon Jul. 9, 2002; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/318,432, entitled“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SELECTING LOAD OPTIONS FOR USE IN RADIO FREQUENCYIDENTIFICATION IN CONTACT AND CONTACTLESS TRANSACTIONS,” filed Dec. 13,2002; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/318,480, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR PAYMENT USING RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION IN CONTACT ANDCONTACTLESS TRANSACTIONS,” filed Dec. 13, 2002; and, U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/396,577 filed Jul. 16, 2002. All of the aboveapplications are hereby incorporated by reference.

With an exemplary online fob embodiment, user 1 interfaces with theaccount provider's user interface system 4 (e.g., website) and registersthe fob for use with the transaction system option. User 1 downloads aprogram and the program is stored on the user's computer. A LUPtransaction icon (e.g., Limited use PIN button) appears on the user'sbrowser and/or an icon appears on the display (e.g., Microsoft Windows®system tray). This button, driven by an account provider specificapplication (activator) that resides on the user's computer, appearseach time user 1 launches the browser (or alternatively the buttonappears at any predetermined intervals, cycles and/or URLs).

User 1 suitably links to an online shopping site, orders a productand/or service and/or fills a shopping cart and goes to the paymentpage. Fob user 1 clicks the LUP payments button on the browser and/orthe icon on the display (or the activator automatically launches the LUPbutton) and a pop-up window appears, asking user 1 to wave the fob infront of the transponder reader. Alternatively, the transponder readermay be configured to automatically detect the presence of a fob. Inanother embodiment, any other security data and/or functionality may beincluded. Upon entering this information, LUP 15 will be generated bythe account provider's LUP transaction system 18 (FIG. 8), or, inanother embodiment (discussed below) will be generated directly from thefob chip; and a pop-up screen containing LUP 15 number will be displayedon the computer. User 1 then “drags and drops” and/or “cuts and pastes”the randomly generated LUP 15 and other transaction information (e.g.,card type, expiration date) into the online order form and completes thetransaction. In an alternative embodiment, LUP 15 and other transactioninformation are automatically filled into the web shopping page by theaccount provider's web server.

Another exemplary embodiment of the present invention integrates a smartcard with an online merchant's website, which may and/or may not beutilized by the user 1. For example, in one aspect of this embodimentthe smart card user goes to a merchant website and a “smart card”payments checkout button appears on the payments page. The accountprovider's transaction system will be invoked if the fob user 1 checksout via the smart card payments button. In an exemplary embodiment, thetransaction system option is “behind the scenes.” User 1 goes to anonline shopping site, orders a product and/or service and/or fills ashopping cart and goes to checkout page. User 1 clicks the fob paymentsbutton on the browser and a pop-up window appears, asking user 1 toinsert and/or swipe the smart card into the smart card reader. Thesystem may then log user 1 into smart card payments checkout process.User 1 will hit “check out” and the smart card payments checkout processmay auto-generate and auto-fill LUP 15 and transaction information intothe appropriate payment field (an applet may be read off of thesmartcard to transfer number to merchant site.) In this embodiment, LUP15 will be auto-generated off the smart card chip, where the fob chipmay use the Java and/or Multos operating systems and may use a randomnumber generating algorithm. In one embodiment, the smart card chip isable to access the account provider's transaction system or,alternatively, contain a pool of possible numbers (in order to avoidgenerating the same number twice). The number may also be sent back tothe LUP transaction system 18 in order to match the PCA 20 number withLUP 15.

In another embodiment using a smart card, a secure electronictransaction (SET) protocol is used to avoid and/or minimizesystem/server contact. In this embodiment, PCA 20 number is on the chipbut is encoded. The SET protocol may be an encryption algorithm on thechip where part of the initial data would be the user's PCA 20 number.The algorithm could be decoded by issuer 3 but not by merchant 2 to comeup with the real account number. In one embodiment, merchant 2 routesthe authorization to the account provider via a BIN number rather thanPCA 20 number. When the transaction is sent from merchant 2 to issuer 3for authorization, the CAS 7 triggers the decode algorithm to completethe process, linking LUP 15 to PCA 20 account.

Another embodiment contemplates the use of LUP 15 with a transpondersystem comprising a first means for generating and/or storing a signalthat includes an encoded LUP 15 and a second means for reading and/orreceiving the signal. In an exemplary embodiment, user 1 waves a fob infront of the merchant's 2 receiving unit. LUP 15 information can besent/received by a number of known methods (e.g. optical, magnetic,infrared, radio frequency, etc). Merchant 2 reader captures LUP 15 andforwards LUP 15 (with the associated transaction information) to theaccount provider's CAS 7 as previously described. The fobs may be set upin a number of ways. Each fob may hold one LUP 15 with certainpredefined parameters and/or each transponder device may have severalLUPs 15.

LUP 15 Authorization Process (FIG. 2, Step 115):

Referencing FIG. 11, after the limited use PIN (LUP 15) is provided tothe merchant 2, merchant 2 submits an authorization request to theissuer 3, as it would with any other credit card transaction. Thisrequest is routed to a card authorization system (CAS) 7 forauthorization (step 80). The CAS 7 recognizes the transaction asinvolving LUP 15 and forwards the transaction information to theAuthorization Request Listener 77 program on the application server 5(step 81). The Authorization Request Listener 77 passes the transactioninformation to a CAS Authentication Component 78 (step 82). The CASAuthentication Component 78 determines if use of LUP 15 has satisfiedthe previously defined conditions of use parameters. To determine this,the CAS Authentication component 78 looks to LUP database 6 for theconditions-of-use rules and the primary charge account number (PCA 20)that are associated with the particular LUP 15 (step 83). If the use ofLUP 15 complies with the rules of use, CAS Authentication component 78returns an authorization message and the associated PCA 20 to CAS 7(step 84). CAS 7 then performs an authorization request for the PCA 20,as is typically completed with any physical charge account, to ensurethat the primary charge account conditions (e.g., credit limit,expiration date, etc.) have been met.

If CAS 7 authorizes use of PCA 20, the transaction involving LUP 15 isapproved and an approval code will be generated. However, PCA 20 mustfirst be replaced with LUP 15 and LUP database 6 must be updated toreflect this transaction data. This is accomplished by CAS 7 returningto CAS Authentication component 78 an approval message with thetransaction data (step 85) and CAS Authentication component 78forwarding to a reversal processing engine 79 (step 86). The reversalprocessing engine 79 interfaces with LUP database 6 to re-substitute LUP15 for PCA 20 and also to update LUP database 6 to reflect thetransaction information (step 87). For example, if the conditions of useparameters associated with LUP 15 authorized two transactions, this step87 updates the cardholder account in LUP database 6 to reflect that onlyone transaction remains. The reversal engine 79 substitutes PCA 20 withLUP 15 and forwards to CAS 7 (step 88). CAS 7 then provides the resultsto merchant 2 (step 89). If CAS Authentication Component 78 does notauthorize use under LUP 15 conditions and/or if CAS 7 does not authorizeuse under PCA 20 conditions, the transaction will not be approved. Whenthe use conditions of both the primary charge account and the limiteduse PINs are satisfied, the transaction is approved. In this exemplaryembodiment, however, LUP 15 is not deactivated to prevent settlement. Tothe contrary, settlement may proceed (as discussed next) even when anauthorization was declined.

Additionally, use of other third-party networks and systems arecontemplated by the present system. One exemplary system allows issuer 3to associate LUPs to third-party accounts, offering the same fraudreduction benefits to external card issuers. Here, in this exemplarysystem for authorizing LUPs, merchant 2 submits an authorization requestto issuer 3. CAS 7, recognizing LUP 15 forwards the request toapplication server 5. The conditions of use are checked and theauthorization request is modified to substitute LUP 15 with theassociated primary charge account (PCA 20). In some cases, a merchantidentifier may be included in the authorization request. Therefore, atranslation may occur to substitute issuer 3 merchant ID with thecorresponding third-party card issuer merchant ID. The request is thenreturned back to CAS 7 for a normal authorization. CAS 7 then recognizesthe account as originating from another issuer (third-party issuer 92),forwards the authorization request to a third-party issuer's network forprocessing (step 84 a). The network 91 routes the request to theappropriate third-party issuer 92 for an authorization determination.The third-party issuer 92 processes the authorization request andreturns the result to CAS 7 for forwarding back to application server 5(step 84 b). Application server 5 saves the authorization result(approval and/or denial) and substitutes PCA 20 with LUP 15 and returnsto CAS 7 for forwarding to the merchant 2.

The authorization and settlement processes may occur as separate stepsand/or as a single step. In one embodiment, referred to herein as anelectronic data capture (EDC) system, merchant 2 sends an authorizationrequest and if the authorization request is approved, a receipt ofcharges is created and submitted for the merchant 2. Separate sequencesof file transmissions and/or messages are therefore not required.Various embodiments, hybrids, and modifications of these processesshould be apparent to one skilled in this art.

LUP 15 Transaction Settlement (FIG. 2, Step 120):

Prior art systems typically deactivate a temporary PIN during theauthorization process if limited-use conditions are not met. Aspreviously explained, because of the uncertainty and variability of theauthorization processing, this often results in PINs beingunintentionally deactivated, thereby bringing the transaction processingto a sudden halt. An exemplary embodiment of the present inventionovercomes this problem by not “deactivating” the limited use PIN whenpredetermined conditions are not met. But instead, allowing thetransaction to proceed through settlement, albeit without a validapproval code, where the merchant bears the risk that the amount willlater be charged back by issuer 3 if the transaction is disputed by user1.

An exemplary settlement process of this invention involves the back endsystems shown in FIG. 8. Specifically, referencing FIGS. 1 and 8, theback end process utilizes a financial capture system (FINCAP) 10 tocapture the settlement information (e.g., receipt of charges “ROC” andsummary of charges “SOC”) from the merchant 2, a back end applicationservice 8 to ensure that proper account information is processed, anaccounts payable system 9 to pay the merchant 2, and an accountsreceivable system 11 to process the account statement that is providedto user 1. An exemplary embodiment of the settlement process involves asettlement request being made by merchant 2 for a transaction involvingLUP 15. All settlement requests are forwarded to the account provider'sback end system 14 for processing where the request is initially sent toFINCAP 10. FINCAP 10 captures the ROC and SOC data and identifies, viathe card product identifier (or by any other suitable means), thetransaction as involving LUP 15. In another embodiment, the productidentifier (or BIN number) does not differentiate between LUP 15 and aregular PIN. In that instance, it will be necessary for FINCAP 10 tocall the back end application service 8 (which interfaces with the LUPdatabase 6) to identify LUP 15 from other PINs. After LUP 15 isdistinguished from the ordinary PINs, FINCAP 10 verifies that the numberis valid (i.e., exists in the LUP database 6). If LUP 15 is a validnumber, FINCAP 10 creates a payment (accounts payable) file includingthe transaction data and sends a payment message to the AP system 9instructing merchant 2 to be paid. In paying the merchant 2, issuer 3references only LUP 15 and does not release PCA 20 and/or any otherregular charge account numbers associated with LUP 15.

The back end system 14 processes user 1 LUP account information asfollows. After capturing the transaction information (ROC and SOC) fromthe merchant 2, FINCAP 10 creates a cardholder account (accountsreceivable) file and sends a message to the back end application service8 to process the information for cardholder billing. Recognizing thatthe transaction involves LUP 15, the back end application service 8replaces LUP 15 with PCA 20 and/or a primary PIN, updates the cardholderLUP account information in LUP database 6 to reflect the appropriatetransaction settlement information, and processes the transaction aswith any other transaction. The back end application service 8 sends thetransaction details to the AR system 11, where the AR system 11 sendsthe proper statement to user 1, typically referencing only PCA 20number. In another embodiment, the AR system 11 may process thestatement where the transactions are further categorized and itemized byboth PCA 20 number and LUP 15.

As previously noted, it may often be the case with prior art systems,that the limited use PIN is inadvertently deactivated during theauthorization phase and completion of the transaction is not possible(e.g., multiple payment purchases). The present transaction systemovercomes this problem by ensuring that valid limited use PIN numberswill be processed. If the conditions-of-use parameters are not met, user1 is, under an exemplary embodiment of the present system, able todispute the transaction and have the transaction charged back tomerchant 2 during the dispute handling process (discussed next). Duringthis dispute handling phase, issuer 3 will retrieve information from LUPdatabase 6 to determine if the disputed information was “authorized”(i.e., has an associated approval code). If the transaction was not“authorized” because the conditions of use parameters were notsatisfied, the amount will be charged back to merchant 2 according topredefined business rules.

Another embodiment provides for checking the approval codes and otherconditions during settlement. Here, transaction information (approvalcode, SE number, and/or other information) may be checked duringsettlement. For example, the back end application service 8 (or theapplication server 5) may compare transaction information to a businessrule and/or conditions set associated with user 1 LUP account. Ifconditions of use have not been met and/or if a valid approval code ismissing, the service 8 and/or server 5 may cause a charge back to beissued to the merchant to offset the previous merchant payment. In otherwords, in this alternative embodiment, where an LUP 15 transaction isprocessed through settlement, the following events may occur insequence. First, a payment file is established once it is determinedthat LUP 15 is a valid number. Second, the merchant is paid. Third, thesystem applies the business rules and/or conditions for the particularaccount associated with LUP 15. Fourth, if it is determined thatmerchant 2 should not have been paid in the first instance because thetransaction conditions were not met and/or an approval code was notpresent, the system will execute a charge back to the merchant 2. Thissettlement processing may be transparent to user 1 since, before the ARsystem releases a cardholder billing statement, the merchant is paid andthen charged-back resulting in no outstanding balance to user 1.

As shown in FIG. 8, the present invention contemplates the interactionof clearing and settlement systems other than those of the issuer 3.This exemplary system allows a issuer 3 to clear and settle LUPtransactions where LUP 15 is associated to a third-party account,meaning merchant 2 is paid and the charge is billed to user 1. As such,an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is configured tosupport interaction with third-party networks and systems. Here, theback end application service 8, upon receiving LUP 15, recognizes thatthe associated PCA 20 originated with another card issuer 92. The backend service 8 separates the transaction into two transactions (aclearing transaction and a settlement transaction). A substitutionoccurs in the clearing transaction where LUP 15 is replaced by theassociated PCA 20. Also, a translation may occur to substitute issuer 3merchant ID with the corresponding third-party card issuer ID. Thetransactions are then forwarded to a third-party clearing and settlementnetwork 93. The third-party clearing and settlement network 93 handlesthe routing, as appropriate, to a merchant acquirer's accounts payablesystem 91 and an issuer's accounts receivable system 92. As noted above,the accounts payable system ensures that all correspondence withmerchant 2 references LUP 15.

Dispute Handling and Customer Service Process (Step 125):

The dispute handling process of the present invention involvessituations where user 1 and/or merchant 2 a disputes charge that isassociated with a transaction involving LUP 15. Generally, user 1disputes a charge by contacting the charge issuer 3 via phone, mail,and/or Internet. As previously noted, an exemplary AR system 11typically bills user 1 with reference to only PCA 20 number. Thecomputer systems of the present invention allow the account provider'scustomer service representatives to lookup information based on, interalia, LUP 15 and/or PCA 20 number. FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary look-upscreen 175 for reviewing the primary charge account 20 and thetransactions associated with LUPs 15.

With respect to a cardholder initiated dispute, the representativeinitiates a dispute through a dispute handling system (DHS) to obtainthe case avoidance and/or case set rules for cardholder disputedtransactions. One of the case avoidance and/or case set rules providesfor a look up from LUP database 6 to verify that the transaction wasprocessed with an approval code. The rule set may provide for, interalia, an automatic charge back of the transaction amount to the merchantif an LUP 15 transaction is submitted without an approval code. The DHSand/or the representative initiates user 1 and/or merchant 2 contact(via phone, mail, Internet). Disputes involving LUPs 15 may beautomatically routed to predefined LUP queues based on industry type(i.e., airline, car rental, etc.). Contact letters may be automaticallyfilled with information retrieved from LUP database 6. The adjustmentfile accesses the application server 5 (or back end application service8) to substitute PCA 20 number with LUP 15. A letter file is thengenerated and an electronic transmission system routes electroniccontacts to and from various merchant interfaces.

In an exemplary system for handling disputes from merchant 2, merchant 2contacts issuer 3 via normal channels. The account provider'srepresentative generally accesses a customer service application that isused to service merchants. This customer service application identifiesthe account by LUP 15 in dispute. A case is set-up with LUP 15 and ismanaged via adjustment management systems. The adjustment managementsystem and a letter generating system access LUP transaction system 18for the account number swap, where the PCA 20 number is replaced withLUP 15 for financial adjustments intended for user 1. The remaininginquiry is processed as with existing dispute handling systems.

Although the previously described embodiments generally relate to auser's 1 request for LUP 15, merchant 2 may also find it desirable torequest limited use PINs from issuer 3 in order to limit exposure tocard fraud. In traditional transaction processes, upon completing atransaction, merchant 2 stores transaction information (including thecustomer's credit card number) in a merchant database. This database ofinformation is subject to card fraud in that a thief could hack into themerchant's computers to steal its customer's PINs and/or accountnumbers. To limit exposure, merchant 2 may desire to replace thosecustomer PINs with LUPs 15 that are associated with the user's primarycharge account (e.g., PCA 20) (i.e., the merchant may not want itsdatabase filled with actual customer credit card numbers and/or PINs).In this situation, only issuer 3 maintains the actual credit card numberand/or PIN and merchant 2 retains only the LUP 15. In an exemplaryprocess, the merchant receives a regular PIN from user 1 to facilitate atransaction. Merchant 2 submits the number to issuer 3 forauthorization, requesting that issuer 3 instead of returning the regularPIN, return LUP 15 (and approval code) that is associated with theregular PIN. In response, the account provider generates LUP 15,associates the number to the regular PIN (which is associated with theprimary account (e.g., PCA 20)), checks to see if authorization isappropriate and returns the authorization record (only referencing LUP15) to the merchant 2. Merchant 2 processes the transaction through thenormal settlement channels, referencing LUP 15 instead of the regularPIN. When retaining transaction records, merchant 2 replaces the primaryPIN with LUP 15 and maintains LUP 15 in its database.

In another embodiment, merchant 2 accepts only LUPs 15—not regularPINs—from users to complete transactions. For the same reasons statedabove, merchant 2 may desire to limit receipt of regular PINs to limitexposure to card fraud. In one exemplary embodiment, merchant 2 computersystem differentiates between LUPs and regular PINs and will not allowcustomers to use regular PINS to facilitate a transaction (i.e., willrefuse the transaction). As previously described, however, LUP 15 andthe regular PIN may be transparent to merchant 2 making it difficult formerchant 2 to differentiate between LUP 15 and the regular PIN. In thissituation, in an exemplary embodiment, LUP 15 will be identified duringthe authorization process by the issuer 3, where if LUP 15 does not meetcertain conditions defined by the merchant 2, the transaction will notbe authorized. For example, the merchant could require that all customertransactions be completed with LUP 15 that has limited-use conditionsrestricting use to the amount of the transaction and/or restricting useto the particular merchant. During the authorization process, LUP 15 iscompared with the merchant-defined conditions where if the conditionsare not satisfied, the authorization request will be denied. Aftercompletion of the transaction, and upon satisfying merchant 2conditions, the LUPs 15 have little to no value and would be of minimalvalue to a potential thief.

Several additional embodiments of the transaction system are providedbelow.

In one embodiment, LUP database 6 is used to facilitate the merging of anewly acquired cardholder base with an established cardholder base. Forexample, when a bank and/or other institution sells a cardholder base toissuer 3, issuer 3 creates new physical accounts for the acquiredcardholders and does not issue new cards. LUP database 6 is updated toassociate the acquired cardholder account numbers to the newly createdaccounts. This allows the cardholders' existing physical cards to stillbe used and processed appropriately. The account provider (BIN) routingis modified for the acquired accounts so authorization requests andsettlements are sent to issuer 3 instead of to the bank and/or otherinstitution. CAS 7 and FINCAP 10 recognize these acquired accounts asLUP 15 accounts and translate the numbers appropriately. The end resultis that charges made by the acquired cardholders end up on a statementgenerated by the issuer 3.

In another exemplary embodiment of the transaction system, issuer 3 mayprovide a line of credit to a customer and/or to merchant 2 and/or groupof merchants who can private label for use by their customers. Thisallows merchant 2 to provide a branded line of credit with minimaland/or no changes to the credit card authorization and settlementprocess. In one embodiment, merchant 2 approves a line of credit and/orasks issuer 3 to approve a line of credit for the customer. By thephrase “line of credit,” merchant 2 may allow user 1 to overdraw on acredit limit, extend a credit limit, make an emergency ATM withdraw,and/or provide user 1 with any other type of line of credit.

The account provider would then issue LUP 15 to the customer via themerchant 2. This LUP 15 is generally used with the merchants 2 who areissuing the line of credit. When the customer wants to make a purchaseusing the merchant's line of credit, the merchant forwards a standardcredit request to issuer 3 with LUP 15 used as the credit card number inthe transaction protocol. Issuer 3 verifies that the line of credit isauthorized and was submitted by merchant 2 issuing the line of creditassociated with this LUP 15. The account provider transaction system(via LUP transaction system 18) is capable of denying usage of this lineof credit at another non-participating site. Issuer 3 may provide aprivate label and/or co-branded web, site to apply for the line ofcredit. The account provider's back end system 14 then bills thecustomer and pays the merchant. Merchant 2 may keep the electronic lineof credit privately at their site, and/or provide it to the customer.The authorization system would not authorize usage at other sites.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary transaction process for use in providinglines of credit to merchants 2. User 1 and/or customer (who may and/ormay not be an existing card member of the participating issuer 3 appliesfor an electronic line of credit (ELOC) with merchant 2 (step 221),merchant 2 redirects user 1 to the account provider's 3 website to fillout the ELOC application 30 (step 222). A fraud check 31 is performed(step 223) and a credit inquiry is typically performed by any creditbureau company 33 (step 224). If an account processing system 32determines that credit is acceptable, an account is set up (step 225). Aphysical card 34 is not generated as with typical processes and may needto be purged depending on the particular system set-up (step 226). Theaccount is sent to the account management system 35 (step 227) and thenforwarded to LUP database 6 and the application server 5 (step 228).User 1 account is then related to a valid merchant identification numbersuch as the SE number 36 (step 229). An account is then set-up with anELOC profile 37 and at this point the limited use PIN ELOC number ispassed back to user 1 (step 230). Merchant 2 submits the ELOC paymentrequest to CAS 7 (step 231), and CAS 7 routes the ELOC to the LUP system(step 232), where the LUP system verifies that the SE number is approvedfor this particular ELOC (step 233). The LUP system translates the ELOCLUP to the related account in the account management system and returnsthe ELOC LUP to merchant (step 234). The merchant is then required tosubmit the authorization code with the receipt of charges (ROC) andsummary of charges (SOC). The merchant submits the ROC and/or SOC to theaccount provider's FINCAP 10 (step 235), whereupon FINCAP forwards theELOC to the LUP system (step 236). The LUP system verifies that (i) thisSE number is valid for the particular ELOC account (step 237) and (ii)the particular transaction was authorized for the specific ELOC account(step 238). The LUP system then flips the account/card number, returnsit to FINCAP 10, whereupon, the number is forwarded to the accountprovider's accounts receivable system 11 (step 239). FINCAP forwards theELOC LUP and associated information to the Accounts Payable system 9(step 240) and pays merchant 2 (step 241).

Another exemplary embodiment allows a user to fund an online digitalwallet with the limited use PIN. In this embodiment, after generationand association with the primary charge account, the limited use PIN isprovided to the user to use within a designated digital wallet, whichmay reside locally at the user's computer and/or may be stored in anonline password protected account.

In yet another alternative embodiment, the limited use PIN system may beused to facilitate programs involving non-currency tender, such as theAmerican Express® Membership Rewards as Currency™ system that isdetailed in U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/200,492, filed Apr. 28,2000, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/201,114, filed May 2,2000, which are hereby incorporated by reference. One embodiment of thissystem, depicted in FIG. 14, allows user 1 to create LUP 15 to be usedto spend membership rewards points. In general, a membership and/orincentive rewards program is a loyalty program that rewards cardholdersfor using their charge card to make purchases. Cardholders accumulatepoints by using a participating charge card and/or by purchasingproducts at a participating merchant. These points may then be convertedto a monetary value and redeemed to purchase merchandise.

As depicted in FIG. 14, user 1 accesses and logs onto the accountprovider's services via a user interface system 4 (e.g., an Internetconnection) (step 251). User 1 proceeds (clicks on hyperlink) to themembership rewards (MR) system 95, where she indicates that she wouldlike to use her membership reward points that are available in her MRaccount (step 252). MR system 95 reports to user 1 how much theavailable MR points are worth (step 253). User 1 indicates how many ofthe MR points (converted to monetary value) should be loaded info anaccount that can be used for purchases (step 254). In an exemplaryembodiment, LUP 15 can be associated with a MR account (i.e., a PINassociated with a primary charge account) that is funded with these MRpoints. Use of this MR account may be limited by user 1 and/or issuer 3,and/or could be further limited by the MR system rules of use that mayhave been predefined by participating merchants (step 255). Once the MRsystem 95 has approved the request and allocated the requested MRpoints, LUP system 18 associates LUP 15 and establishes an MR-LUPprofile (256). The MR-LUP profile contains the options that will beapplied and the amount that will be available to the resulting LUP 15.LUP system 18 returns LUP 15 (and other account information) to the MRsystem 95 to provide to user 1 for use in completing subsequenttransactions (e.g., online purchases) (step 257).

When desiring to purchase products using the MR point-funded LUP 15,user 1 proceeds to a merchant site (e.g., online website), selects goodsand is requested by the merchant to provide payment information (e.g.,via an online payment web page). User 1 chooses the appropriate issuer 3as the form of payment (e.g., American Express®, Visa®, etc.) and entersLUP 15 (and other needed information) into the appropriate paymentfields (step 258). The merchant 2 processes LUP 15 authorization asdiscussed above (step 259), where the account provider CAS 7 recognizesthe transaction as involving LUP 15, and forwards the request to the LUPsystem 18 containing, inter alia, an application server (FIG. 8, number5) and a LUP database (FIG. 8, number 6). It should be appreciated thatprofile information may be stored in an MR database, LUP database 6and/or any other suitable database (step 260). LUP system 18 recognizesthe account as an MR account, and verifies that optional conditions, ifany, are met. If the conditions are not met, an error is returned to CAS7 and then to the merchant (step 261). If the conditions are met, thebalance available on the MR-LUP profile is reduced by the purchaseamount, a record of the purchase is recorded in the MR-LUP profile, andan approval code is returned to the authorization system (step 262) andthen to the merchant (step 263). Although additional CAS 7 processing iscontemplated by this embodiment, application of additional rules andvalidations—which would typically be applied—are not required for thistype of account. The approved purchase is finalized by the merchant withLUP 15 transaction being submitted through the merchant's existing POSnetwork for settlement (step 264). LUP 15 transaction is received by theaccount provider's financial capture system (FINCAP) 10 (step 265). TheFINCAP 10 forwards the LUP transaction to the appropriate AP system 9(step 266). The AP system 9 then pays the merchant according to theappropriate settlement terms and conditions (step 267). FINCAP 10,having identified the transaction as involving LUP 15, sends thetransaction information to LUP system 18 (via a back end applicationservice 8) to identify the actual account number (i.e. PCA 20) (step268). LUP system 18 recognizes that LUP 15 is associated with a MRaccount, searches for the MR-LUP profile and passes a credit request tothe appropriate user 1 MR account to reduce the available MR points(step 269), and (ii) the transaction record is used to build a creditagainst the actual charge account (e.g., PCA 20) that will offset thecharged LUP 15 transaction (step 269 b). In the first instance (step269), LUP system 18 passes a request to the MR system 95 to deduct theappropriate number of MR points. In the second instance (step 269 b),both the original transaction and the credit are passed back to FINCAP10 with the actual charge account number (e.g., PCA 20 number). TheFINCAP 10 then forwards the charge and credit transactions to theappropriate AR system 11 for normal billing processing.

As shown, the embodiment depicted in FIG. 14 allows user 1 to spend theMR points in at least two ways. First, the membership reward points canbe deducted at the time of the transaction processing, and/or second,the transaction can be reflected on the user's bill along with anassociated credit that reflects the payment with reward points. Itshould also be appreciated that user 1 may choose to use MR points on atransaction by transaction basis and may be able to combine variationsof currency (e.g., credit, debit cards etc.) and non-currency tender (MRpoints), as desired, to effectuate a transaction. Additionally, bothcurrency and non-currency tender may be integrated into a LUP gift,where a first party gifts to a second party a limited use PIN that hassome currency and/or non-currency value.

Another membership rewards embodiment is shown in FIG. 15. Here, user 1is able to choose to use membership reward points when shopping atmerchant 2 site that supports the membership rewards as a paymentoption. Referencing FIG. 15, user 1 goes to a participating merchant'ssite (e.g., online website) to shop for goods and/or services. User 1selects merchandise and continues to a payment site, where the accountprovider's MR points is one of the payment options (step 301). When thecardholder selects this option, a secure connection is established withissuer 3 that authenticates both user 1 and merchant 2 (step 302).Issuer 3 requests the user's user ID and Password, either through a popup screen, a http redirect link, and/or an applet downloaded by themerchant (step 303). User 1 supplies the User ID and Password which isreturned to the account provider with the purchase amount (step 304).The account provider user interface 4 (e.g., online services) causesuser 1 to be authenticated, collects the associated registered chargeaccounts and invokes the MR system 95 (step 305). The MR system 95 usesthese card accounts to identify the user's MR account (step 306). Ifnone of the registered accounts are related to a MR account, user 1 isnot able to use MR points to pay for her purchase and an error isreturned to user 1. After identifying the MR account, the MR pointsavailable are converted to the corresponding cash equivalent andcompared to the purchase amount being requested. If the purchase amountis greater than the MR cash equivalent, an error is returned to user 1(step 307). If the MR cash equivalent is greater than the purchaseamount, all card accounts participating in the MR account are collectedand returned to user 1 (step 308). User 1 designates the card account tobe used to house all succeeding financial activity, which is thenreturned to issuer 3 (step 309). Issuer 3 then triggers LUP system 18 toestablish LUP 15 that is associated to the selected MR account numberand a MR-LUP account profile is set-up (step 310). LUP system 18 returnsLUP 15 to the user interface system 4 and then onto user 1 (step 311).User 1 cuts and pastes, drags and drops, and/or auto-fills LUP 15 (andneeded information) into the appropriate merchant payment field (step312).

As previously noted, the merchant uses the existing authorizationnetwork to request authorization for the SIP transaction (step 313). CAS7 recognizes the transaction as one involving LUP 15 and forwards to LUPsystem 18 (step 314). The LUP system 18 identifies the associated actualaccount number (e.g., PCA 20 number) and/or PIN for LUP 15 (step 315)and also recognizes the account as an MR account. At this point,although all MR transactions would have been previously verified, the MRaccount balance is again checked to minimize possible fraud (e.g., fraudinvolving two requests using the same MR points). The cash equivalentfor the MR points for the actual account are then retrieved from the MRsystem 95 and if the purchase amount is greater than the availableamount, a denial is returned to the authorization system and to merchant2 (step 316). If the cash equivalent value of the MR points exceeds thepurchase amount, the LUP system records the purchase in the MR-LUPprofile and returns LUP 15 to CAS 7 (step 317). CAS 7 then completes theauthorization for the actual account (e.g., ensuring that the limits forPCA 20 are complied with) (step 318), and returns the results (e.g.,approval code) to merchant 2 (step 319).

The approved transaction is finalized by merchant 2 with the LUPtransaction being submitted through the existing point-of-sale networkfor settlement (step 320). As before, the transaction information isreceived by the account provider FINCAP 10 (step 321) and then forwardedto the appropriate AP system 9 (step 322) for payment (step 323). Sincethe transaction involves LUP 15, FINCAP 10 directs the transaction toLUP system 18 to identify PCA 20 and/or the regular PIN (step 324). LUPsystem 18 identifies the PCA 20 and/or the regular PIN (step 325) andalso recognizes LUP 15 account is set up using MR points, where LUPsystem 18 searches the MR-LUP profile for the associated purchase record(step 326). LUP system 18 either (i) passes a credit request to MR toreduce the MR points (step 326 a), and/or (ii) creates a credit againstthe billing transaction (step 326 b). In step 326 a, LUP system 18passes a request to MR system 95 to deduct the appropriate number of MRpoints. Here it is not necessary to return the AR transactioninformation to FINCAP 10 for forwarding to AR system 11, but areconciliation entry is created to reconcile AR 11 for FINCAP 10. Instep 326 b, a transaction record is used to build a credit against areal account number (e.g., PCA 20) that will offset the chargetransaction. LUP system 18 forwards this credit to the FINCAP 10. Theoriginal billing transaction is returned to the FINCAP 10 to appear onuser's 1 statement. FINCAP 10 then forwards the charge transaction tothe appropriate AR system for normal processing. FINCAP 10 forwards thecredit issued by the MR system 95 to the appropriate AR system 11 fornormal billing processing. Accordingly, user 1 will see on her statementa credit reflecting the currency value of the MR points used and acharge in the amount of the transaction.

Another embodiment provides for the generation of one and/or more LUPsthat are subordinate to and associated with a main limited use PIN that,as described above, is associated with the user's PCA 20 account. Asnoted above, these subordinate numbers may also be digitally stored indevices such as wireless telephones, PDAs, handheld computers, and thelike. Providing multiple layers of limited use PINs provides user 1 withgreater flexibility. For example, a cardholder on vacation couldstructure the main LUP 15 to be valid for the duration of the vacation.User 1 is then able to generate subordinate limited use PINs (ortertiary numbers) with varying conditions to take into account variousactivities that may occur during the vacation. User 1 could structurethe main limited use PIN to have a maximum credit limit of $3,000 (thisassumes that the associated primary charge card credit limit is equal toand/or greater than $3,000) that is good for the duration of thevacation. A subordinate limited use PIN may then be provided to thespouse with a $1,000 limit and additional limited use PINs, restrictedto $500 limits, could be provided to the children. Each subordinate cardwould be valid only for the duration of the vacation and would only bevalid for the maximum dollar amount specified. As another example, LUP15 may be valid for a specific merchant and/or a specific subset ofmerchants. That is, a user may only be allowed to use LUP 15 for atransaction at Macy's or for a transaction at any grocery store.

Similarly, another embodiment provides for the generation of one and/ormore special purpose LUPs. As used herein, “special purpose” may referto one discreet purpose, a number of related purposes, and/or multiplepurposes. As noted above, these special purpose LUPs may also bedigitally stored in devices such as wireless telephones, PDAs, handheldcomputers, and the like. Providing one or more special purpose LUPsprovides user 1 with greater flexibility. For example, a special purposeLUP may be used for a child who wants to borrow, for example, a creditcard, for an event. The special purpose LUP may be associated with acredit line of PCA 20, such as, for example $500. Once the child exceedsthe credit line, the LUP may be configured to no longer function and/orprovide authorization and/or access to PCA 20.

Another example of a special purpose LUP is a LUP that may be configuredto facilitate one or more responses. For example, a special purpose LUPmay be configured to be associated with an emergency response. That is,if the special purpose LUP is entered into a website, POS, ATM and/orother similar hardware, the special purpose LUP may automaticallytrigger an emergency response, such as, for example, notification of thepolice or fire department. As another example, the special purpose LUPmay be configured with a notification response. For example, the specialpurpose LUP may be configured to automatically send notification to aparent and/or an employer and/or other person any time the specialpurpose LUP is used.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed above with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that maycause any benefit, advantage, and/or solution to occur and/or becomemore pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, and/oressential features and/or elements of any and/or all the claims. As usedherein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” and/or any other variationthereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that aprocess, method, article, and/or apparatus that comprises a list ofelements does not include only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed and/or inherent to such process, method,article, and/or apparatus. Further, no element described herein isrequired for the practice of the invention unless expressly described as“essential” and/or “critical.”

1. A method for facilitating a transaction, comprising the steps of:identifying a primary account; generating a limited use PIN that isconfigured to facilitate a transaction; associating the limited use PINwith the primary account; and issuing the limited use PIN to a firstparty to facilitate a transaction with a second party.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of issuing the limited use PIN to a firstparty to facilitate a transaction with a second party comprisesconfiguring the limited use PIN to be immediately usable forfacilitating the transaction.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising allowing the first party to select and defineconditions-of-use parameters, wherein the parameters place limits on howthe limited use PIN may be used.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising associating the conditions-of-use parameters with the limiteduse PIN.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step ofstoring the condition of use parameters in one or more account databasefields associated with the limited use PIN.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein the steps of selecting and defining the conditions of useparameters comprise selecting and defining at least one of: a limiteduse PIN credit limit, limiting use of a limited use PIN on accountbalance availability, a limited use PIN expiration date, a predeterminednumber of transactions before the limited use PIN is declined, limitinguse of a limited use PIN to a specified dollar amount per transaction,limiting use of a limited use PIN to a total dollar amount forpro-designated number of transactions, whether a limited use PIN can beused to earn loyalty points, whether a limited use PIN can be used toredeem loyalty points, limiting use of a limited use PIN to a maximumdollar amount per month, use of a limited use PIN for a specifiedmerchant only, restricting use of a limited use PIN to a specified user,and specifying that all online transactions be performed using only alimited use PIN.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the conditions of useparameters comprise a notification response, wherein the notificationresponse comprise notifying a third party whenever the limited use PINis used.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary account is a lineof credit account.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving transaction information from the second party forauthorization; forwarding the transaction information to a cardauthorization system for authorization processing; processing thetransaction information with the card authorization system, wherein thecard authorization system interfaces with the limited use PIN system todetermine when authorization is appropriate; recognizing that thetransaction information comprises a limited use PIN; and retrievingaccount information that is associated with the limited use PIN.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising: determining when conditions ofuse associated with the primary account are satisfied, wherein theconditions of use parameters associated with the primary account includeat least an expiration date; determining when conditions of useassociated with the limited use PIN are satisfied; returning anappropriate approval code to the second party, when conditions of useparameters associated with the limited use PIN and the primary accountare satisfied; and declining the authorization request when either theconditions associated with at least one of the primary account and thelimited use PIN are not satisfied.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereinthe steps of determining when conditions of use associated with theprimary account and limited use PIN are satisfied, comprises determiningwhen at least one of the following conditions of use are satisfied: alimited use PIN credit limit, a limited use PIN account balanceavailability, a limited use PIN expiration date, a predetermined numberof transactions before the limited use PIN is declined, limiting the useof a limited use PIN to a specified dollar amount per transaction,limiting the use of a limited use PIN to a total dollar amount forpro-designated number of transactions, whether a limited use PIN can beused to earn loyalty points, whether a limited use PIN can be used toredeem loyalty points, limiting the use of a limited use PIN to amaximum dollar amount per month, use of a limited use PIN for aspecified merchant only, restricting use of a limited use PIN to aspecified user, and specifying that all online transactions be performedusing only a limited use PIN.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving transaction settlement information from the secondparty, wherein the transaction was facilitated using the limited usePIN; identifying the transaction settlement information as a transactioninvolving the limited use PIN; verifying that the limited use PIN is avalid number; capturing the transaction settlement information in afinancial capture system; and causing the second party to be paid. 13.The method of claim 12, further comprising: identifying the primaryaccount that is associated with the limited use PIN; replacing thelimited use PIN with the primary account PIN number; processing thetransaction settlement information in an accounts receivable system; andgenerating a billing statement that includes at least the primaryaccount number.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the stepsof comparing the transaction settlement information with conditions ofuse parameters associated with the limited use PIN to determine when theconditions of use have been satisfied.
 15. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving an authorization request from the secondparty, where the authorization request involves the limited use PIN withlimited-use conditions associated therewith; routing the authorizationrequest to a card authorization system to determine when limited useconditions have been satisfied; returning to the second party a messagedeclining authorization when the conditions have not been satisfied; andreturning to the second party a message approving authorization requestwhen conditions have been satisfied.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising the step of receiving from the second party a settlementrequest for payment of a transaction involving a limited use PIN;wherein the second party is paid when the limited use PIN is valid. 17.A method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: routing thesecond party settlement request for payment to a financial capturesystem; creating an accounts payable file and routing the accountspayable file to an accounts payable system for payment processing; andcreating an accounts receivable file and routing the accounts receivablefile to a service that retrieves the associated primary account numberand replaces the limited use PIN with the primary account PIN number andforwards the resulting accounts receivable file to an accountsreceivable system to generate the first party billing statement.
 18. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the limited use PINcomprises: receiving a primary account number from a first party toinitiate a transaction; sending the primary account number to a cardprovider during a card authorization process, requesting that the cardprovider generate and return the limited use PIN that is associated withthe primary account number; and receiving from the card provider thelimited use PIN associated with the primary account.
 19. A method forfacilitating a transaction comprising the steps of: registering with acard provider to use a transaction system; logging-in to the cardprovider's transaction system by providing authenticating information,and causing card provider to verify that a first party is a registeredand authorized user; designating a transaction account as a primaryaccount; requesting a limited use PIN from the card provider, causingthe card provider to generate a limited use PIN and to associate thelimited use PIN with the previously selected the primary account; andreceiving the limited use PIN from the card provider.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, further comprising the step of providing the limited use PINto a second party to facilitate a transaction.
 21. The method of claim19, further comprising the step of selecting conditions of useparameters to be associated with the limited use PIN.
 22. The method ofclaim 19, further comprising the step of defining conditions of useparameters to be associated with the limited use PIN.
 23. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the steps occur online.
 24. The method of claim 19,wherein the primary account is a non-currency based account.
 25. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the primary account is associated with anelectronic line of credit system.
 26. The method of claim 20, furthercomprising the step of disputing a charge for a transaction involving alimited use PIN, and causing the card provider to charge back the chargeto the second party.
 27. A method for facilitating a transaction,comprising the steps of: receiving a primary account number from a firstparty to initiate a transaction; sending the primary account number to acard provider, requesting that the card provider generate and return alimited use PIN that is associated with the primary account number;receiving from the card provider the limited use PIN associated with theprimary account, wherein the limited use PIN is then used to facilitatea transaction settlement; and purging the primary account number fromthe second party's records and replacing with the associated limited usePIN.
 28. A method for facilitating a transaction, comprising the stepsof: receiving a primary account number from a first party to initiate atransaction; sending the primary account number to a card provider,requesting that the card provider generate and return information thatis associated with the primary account number; receiving from the cardprovider information associated with the primary account, wherein theinformation is then used to facilitate a transaction settlement; andpurging the primary account number from the second party's records andreplacing with the associated information.